Applicator



April 30, 1935. 1.. c. SHEPHERD APPLICATOR Filed Aug. 9, 1934 PatentedApr. 30, 1935 UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE a 1,999,642 I I e APPLICAT0RLaurence 0. Shepherd, Evanston; 111., assig'nor to Hynson, Westcott &Dunning Incorporated,., 7 Baltimore,'-Md.,a corporation of Maryland-Application August 9, 19 s4, s'e1 ia1i-i 739,182 6 Claims. (o1. 91-674)This invention relates to a device for applying liquids, suchasmedicines, to surfaces such as the skin; for example, for applying ananti septic liquid or the like to minorinjuries, such as mosquito bites,cuts and abrasions. Aswill be=apparent, the device is capable of avariety ofuses, such as for applying oil, mucilage and the like. I 1

An object of the invention is to provide such a device, commonly knownas an applicator, having the well recognized advantages of applicatorsheretofore commonly used, i. e. having a rounded and smooth tip orcontact surface,v

and in addition the advantages of a relatively large contact surface andthe abilityto hold and fee d onto the surfacebeing treated a relativelylarge amount of liquid comparedwith the quantity of liquid which may beapplied in; a single operationby the use of the well known applicatorconsisting of a glass rod having a rounded or slightly enlargedspherical end or tip. These characteristics are important in an applicator for medicines in view of the fact that the medicine must bebrought into contact with a sensitive part of the body. without injuryor irritation. y

The invention resides in an applicator having a stem and a tip in theform of a loop adapted to hold a quantity of liquid and bent laterallywith respect to the stem to facilitate bringing the loop intosubstantially flat contact with the surface being treated. The tip maybe flattened to improve thecontact between it and the surface beingtreated and to facilitate the transfer of liquid therefrom to saidsurface.

Other novel and advantageousfeatures of the invention will be broughtout in the ensuing detailed description in connection with theaccompanying drawing which illustrates the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an applicatorin accordance with theinvention mounted on a bottle stopper.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the applicator of Fig. l with the bottlestopper removed.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the applicator of Fig. 2 with a portion of thestem broken off.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and '7 are perspective views of four modifications of theapplicator.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail on line 88 of Fig. 2.

,The applicator may be made of any suitable material, such as metal,glass, resin, wood or the like, but is designed to be made from metalwire or from glass rod or tubing. If metal is used it should, of course,be resistantto corrosion or coated or plated with'such a metal; Theapplicator may be" made in any suitable manner, such as by' pouringfluid metal or glass into-a mold, or by stamping or cutting or pressing,and the method hereinafter described is given only for the purpose ofillustration.

In makingthe applicator illustrated in Figs. 1-3, I- prefer to bend apiece of wire or glass rod or tubing to form the loop I of the desiredsize,

say about from one eighth to one'fourth of an inch in diameter, andbring the two end por tions of the wire, rod or tube together to formthe stem orshaft 2. The loop is thenbent laterally .toan' angle of aboutor more to the stem andfiattened. The two endsin' case metal wire isused, are then united. by soldering or welding and slightly pointed at 3to facilitate theinsertion of the end of the stem of the ap plicatorintothe bottle stopper 4.

It will be noted that in the construction described and illustrated inFigs. 1-3, the loop I is bent laterally at right angles to the planeintersecting the two parallel end portions of the wire forming the stem,and that the opening in the loop communicates with the grooves formed onthe opposite sides of the stem by the two contacting portions of thewire forming the stem. Thus, in addition to the liquid held by the loopI, some additional liquid is held by the two grooves and feeds down intothe loop as the liquid in the latter is withdrawn and the applicator iscapableof carrying for application at a single operation a considerablequantity of liquid. The two end portions that form the stem may bespaced apart slightly in capillary relation to each other, as shown inFig. 8. The flattened loop is capable of contacting a relatively largesurface and therefore of applying liquid to a relatively largesurface,and moreover does not present any sharp edge, point or corner whichmight irritate or .injure the surface. The flattened loop supports theliquid held thereby very close to its lower face so that no difiicultyis encounteredin securing a transfer of liquid from the loop to thesurface, i. e. securing contact between the liquid and the surface. I Ie The modified forms of applicator illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 are verysimilar and involve essentially only the use of a different size of wireand a slightly different size and shape of loop. Both of these modifiedforms may be regarded as representing the incomplete applicator of Figs.1-3 in which the loop has not been flattened and the stem has not beenpointed for insertion into the stopper. On the other hand, theapplicators of Figs. 4 and 5 may be regarded as finished products inwhich the flattening of the loop and the pointing of the stem areomitted. As will be apparent the stem need not be inserted in a bottlestopper and it need not be pointed for that purpose, and many of theadvantages of the applicator illustrated in Figs. 1-3 Will be securedwithout flattening the loop, i. e. it will hold the same or even agreater quantity of liquid, will contact substantially the same area ofsurface, and will feed the liquid to the surface, although not quite asreadily.

The two ends forming the stem of the applicator are not necessarilyunited throughout their length by welding or soldering or the like, noteven at their ends, and may in fact be spaced apart slightly to increasethe amount of liquid held by the two grooves formed between them. Thisspacing may extend only part Way up the stem or the two end portionsforming the stem may be in contact or in fact integral in case theapplicator is made by stamping or molding.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modification in which an additional loop 5 isprovided between the two end portions of the wire or rod forming thestem of the applicator at a point a short distance up the stem from theloop I. This second loop 5 serves to carry additional liquid which willfeed down the grooved stem to the loop I and onto the surface beingtreated.

Fig. '7 illustrates a further modification in which the stem is formedat least down to a point near the loop I of a single strand of the wireor rod. In this modification the groove in the stem may be entirelyomitted or it may extend only a short distance up the stem from the loopI. The loop I of the forms of applicator illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7may be flattened as illustrated in Figs. 1-3.

It is apparent that the shapes illustrated, whether the loop I isflattened or not, andwhether the stem is bifurcated or grooved all oronly part of the way up from the loop, whether the two strands formingthe stern are in contact or spaced apart, or united or not, may be madein a variety of ways of which the method described, i. e. bending apiece of wire or a rod or tube to the desired shape is merelyillustrative.

I claim:

1. An applicator comprising a substantially straight stem provided witha longitudinal groove, a substantially fiat loop at one end of the stemlying at an angle to the stem, the opening in said loop communicatingwith the groove in the stem, the peripheral wall of said loop beingflattened.

2. An applicator comprising a stem and a loop adapted to hold a body ofliquid, the loop being disposed at an angle to the stem.

3. An applicator comprising a stem and a loop adapted to hold a body ofliquid, the material of the loop being flattened in the plane of theloop.

4. An applicator comprising a stem and a loop adapted to hold a body ofliquid, the material of the loop being flattened in the plane of theloop and the loop being disposed at an angle to the stem.

5. An applicator comprising a stem and a loop adapted to hold a body ofliquid, the stem being provided with a groove communicating with theopening in the loop.

6. An applicator comprising a stem, a loop at one end of the sternadapted to hold a body of liquid and a second loop at a short distancefrom the first named loop, the openings in the two loops being connectedby a groove in the stem.

LAURENCE C. SHEPHERD.

